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[[File:Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Hazrat-e Turkestan, Kazakhstan.jpg|thumb|right|300px|View of [[Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi]]]]
Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country by area and the largest landlocked country. As of 2014, tourism has accounted for 0.3% of Kazakhstan's GDP, but the government has plans to increase it to 3% by 2020.<ref name="theguardian1">{{cite web|author=Joanna Lillis for EurasiaNet, part of the New East |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/17/kazakhstan-eases-visa-restrictions-attract-tourists |title=Summer holiday in Kazakhstan? Astana eases visa restrictions to attract tourists | World news |work=The Guardian |date= |accessdate=2015-11-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68601 |title=Kazakhstan: Astana Announces Visa-Free Travel for 10 High-Investing States |publisher=EurasiaNet.org |date=16 June 2014 |accessdate=2015-11-18}}</ref> According to the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017, travel and tourism industry GDP in Kazakhstan is $3.08 billion or 1.6 percent of total GDP. The WEF ranks Kazakhstan 81st in its 2017 report, which four positions higher compared to the previous period.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://reports.weforum.org/travel-and-tourism-competitiveness-report-2017/country-profiles/#economy=KAZ|title=Country profiles|work=Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017|access-date=2017-04-07|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Industry==
In 2012, Kazakhstan ranked 51st in the world in terms of number of tourist arrivals. In 2000 total 1.47 million international tourists visited Kazakhstan, which was increased to 4.81 million in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mecometer.com/whats/kazakhstan/international-tourism-number-of-arrivals/ |title=International tourism, number of arrivals – Kazakhstan |publisher=Mecometer.com |date= |accessdate=2015-11-18}}</ref> [[The Guardian]] describes tourism in Kazakhstan as, "hugely underdeveloped," despite the attractions of the country's dramatic mountain, lake and desert landscapes.<ref name=Lillis/> Factors hampering an increase in tourist visits are said to include high prices, "shabby infrastructure," "poor service" and the logistical difficulties of travel in a geographically enormous, underdeveloped country.<ref name=Lillis/> Even for locals, going for holiday abroad may cost only half the price of taking a holiday in Kazakhstan.<ref name=Lillis>{{cite news|last1=Lillis|first1=Joanna|title=Summer holiday in Kazakhstan? Astana eases visa restrictions to attract tourists|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/17/kazakhstan-eases-visa-restrictions-attract-tourists|accessdate=11 December 2015|publisher=[[The Guardian]]|date=17 July 2014}}</ref> High-end tourists like Britain's [[Prince Harry]] have visited for the skiing.<ref name=PrinceHarry>{{cite news|title=Prince Harry in Kazakhstan: ski resorts and other attractions|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/snowandski/10720930/Prince-Harry-in-Kazakhstan-ski-resorts-and-other-attractions.html|accessdate=11 December 2015|publisher=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref>

===Government initiative===
The Kazakh Government, long characterized as authoritarian with a history of human rights abuses and suppression of political opposition,<ref name="time">{{cite news|last=Zarakhovich|first=Yuri|date=27 September 2006|url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1539999,00.html|title=Kazakhstan Comes on Strong|work=Time|accessdate=13 December 2015}}</ref> has started an initiative named the "Tourism Industry Development Plan 2020". This initiative aims to establish five tourism clusters in Kazakhstan: Astana city, Almaty city, East Kazakhstan, South Kazakhstan, and West Kazakhstan Oblasts. It also seeks investment of $4 billion and the creation of 300,000 new jobs in the tourism industry by 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.tengrinews.kz/environment/Kazakhstan-to-develop-its-tourism-industry-254241/ |title=Kazakhstan to develop its tourism industry. Environment. Tengrinews.kz |publisher=En.tengrinews.kz |date=18 June 2014 |accessdate=2015-11-18}}</ref><ref name=Lillis/>

==Visa policy==
{{main|Visa policy of Kazakhstan}}
Kazakhstan offers a permanent visa-free regime for up to 90 days to citizens of [[Armenia]], [[Belarus]], Georgia, [[Moldova]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Mongolia]], Russia and [[Ukraine]] and for up to 30 days to citizens of [[Argentina]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Serbia]], [[South Korea]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Turkey]] and [[Uzbekistan]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Visa Information|url=https://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?FullText=1&COUNTRY=KZ&SECTION=VI&SUBSECTION=00&user=KLMB2C&subuser=KLMB2C|work=[[Timatic]]|publisher=[[IATA]]|accessdate=30 April 2016}}</ref>

In 2014 Kazakhstan adopted a no-visa pilot program for 10 developed nations with the highest investment in Kazakhstan economy in order to attract tourists and investors. According to this policy, visitors from the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, [[Malaysia]] and the [[Netherlands]] can stay in Kazakhstan without any visa for a period of up to 15 days.<ref name="theguardian1" /> In 2015, Kazakhstan further expanded this program to 19 countries by including Australia, [[Finland]], [[Hungary]], [[Monaco]], [[Norway]], Singapore, Spain, [[Sweden]], [[Switzerland]] and the [[United Arab Emirates]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Turebekova |first=Aiman |url=http://astanatimes.com/2015/07/kazakhstan-expands-visa-free-regime-up-to-19-countries-extends-it-to-end-of-2017/ |title=Kazakhstan Expands Visa-Free Regime up to 19 Countries, Extends It to End of 2017 |publisher=Astanatimes.com |date=2 July 2015 |accessdate=2015-11-18}}</ref>

==Arrivals by country==
Most visitors arriving to Kazakhstan on short term basis were from the following countries:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|- style="color:white;"
! style="width:5px; background:#00966E;"|Rank
! style="width:130px; background:#00966E;"| Country
! style="width:50px; background:#00966E;"| 2015
! style="width:50px; background:#00966E;"| 2016
|-
|1||{{flagcountry|Russia}}|| N/A || 615,877
|-
|2||{{flagcountry|Uzbekistan}}|| N/A || 409,600
|-
|3||{{flagcountry|Kyrgyzstan}}|| N/A || 220,000
|-
|4||{{flagcountry|South Korea}} || N/A || 176,259
|-
|5||{{flagcountry|Turkmenistan}} || N/A || 90,377
|-
|6||{{flagcountry|China}} || N/A || 81,433
|-
|7||{{flagcountry|Turkey}} || N/A || 50,722
|-
|8||{{flagcountry|India}} || N/A || 49,061
|-
|9||{{flagcountry|Mongolia}} || N/A || 15,810
|-
|10||{{flagcountry|Germany}} || N/A || 8,650
|-
|}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{Wikivoyage-inline|Kazakhstan}}
{{Tourism in Asia}}

[[Category:Tourism in Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Tourism in Europe|Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Tourism in Asia|Kazakhstan]]

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